


Choose your color

by Iamnamedsilence



Series: The Sickness of Spark [3]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Anger, Foreshadowing, Frustration, Functionist Universe, Gen, Politics, Scheming, characters taken from other continuities, rebelion, trial
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-19
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-08 04:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20310244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iamnamedsilence/pseuds/Iamnamedsilence
Summary: In the Functionist Universe they were outcasts forced to fight for their survival – then rebels under Megatron’s leadership. Now, in the new world where their leader is put on trial as a war criminal, Shatter and Dropkick feel like outcasts again.Shatter’s backstory for Loyalties.





	Choose your color

They both react in the way they learned to: with anger. Only Shatter controls it better and while she just throws the empty cube at the screen, Dropkick leaves. Shatter knows her amica will now search for someone to beat up, and she understands it so good. She wants to destroy too. She wants to kill someone.

She knows better than to start a fight with random strangers, but she is not going to stop Dropkick. Let them find what they need.

Shatter just picks them up later from the street. Dropkick’s faceplate is dented in several places, some minor fuel lines are pierced and are now dripping energon. The idiots who decided to fight them look worse, though. They underestimated Dropkick’s rage. Now they look at Shatter, as she stands in the alley, eyes glowing red.

„Fraggin’ ‘Cons!” one of them screams, although neither Shatter nor Dropkick have any insignia painted on their plating. But the one who screams wears a red badge and he looks overcharged.

He celebrated, Shatter thinks, and the anger burns stronger in her.

She sees the other mecha who got into the fight have their chassis clean: the mecha from this universe would probably call them neutrals.

They are no neutrals in Shatter’s eyes.

She can recognize castes and the other two are blacksmith caste.

They probably support Functionism.

Those two and the Autobot have now a common reason to celebrate, and in their eyes those who aren’t happy are the enemy.

Shatter would love to beat them until their faces are dented, until all of their plating is in need of smoothing, until their joints are broken. She knows better.

She puts on her worst smile and drags Dropkick away.

She hates it. She hates those mecha.

„I would win” Dropkick protests.

„Would it help?” she asks.

„I’d feel better.”

„You’d drag attention to us.” she reminds them.

Dragging attention is not good when you are alone. They both learned it the hard way, escaping from the regime, trying to stay in hiding.

Dragging attention is good when your allies are pursuing a real target, and this explosion you have just caused is only a distraction.

Dropkick shrugs.

„So what? It’s over.”

This is bitter. It’s over, they had won, the Functionist regime no more rules their planet and they should be happy in the new wonderful universe.

Only they didn’t win, not really, and those high-caste scum celebrating together with the mech wearing the red badge are the sign there will be no happiness.

The rebellion is disbanded and its leader is not coming back. Those aftholes, who had just run away celebrated the end of his trial, the fact, he will never stand in their way again.

Every time Shatter thinks about this, she feels anger returning. Every time she thinks about this she has to think that she doesn’t know what is true anymore.

She wants to do something, but beating random mecha on the streets is not an option.

They return to the apartment. It is not even their, they are squatting and it is possible that the owner will return. Well, not until they drank all his high-grade, hopefully. The television is still on and when Shatter patches her amica, she hears a press conference. The mech speaking is named Prowl and he is, allegedly, Internal Security Advisor of Cybertron. Internal Security Advisor my aft, Shatter thinks. She hates him. What does he think? That he understands this planet? That this planet is his? His planet was destroyed! This one has its population, the mecha who live here and who have no intentions in giving the power to the outsider. She looks at his smug, self-confident face, at the missing eye, and she thinks she would gladly tear the other one out.

She looks at the red badge on his chest and hates it. She had never thought she could hate this symbol.

„Do you think Megatron should have been executed?” the reporter asks.

Prowl is silent for a moment.

„I will put my personal opinion aside for this,” he says „Although you are probably aware of what it is. But in this case, we should rely on the neutral outsider opinion. I have trust in the decision the Galactic Council made. I believe the trial was fair and that the final judgment was the best solution for all of us. I will not oppose it. I’m leaving the matter in the Council’s hands.”

Shatter hears Dropkick’s denta gritting.

„He should be dead,” Dropkick says.

Shatter is not sure if he means Prowl or Megatron. Possibly both.

This is a horrible thought: that someone you respect so much, someone whom you owe so much should die. But indefinite imprisonment is just too horrible to wish to your enemies – even worse to wish to your allies and friends.

She nods.

„What now?” Dropkick asks.

„I have no idea” she admits.

On the lower levels of the building someone else is watching the interview, but with different thoughts.

„Die, scum!” Shatter hears someone screaming. „Decepticon scrap!”

Another idiot with a red badge? Why there is so much of them right now? She had never thought she would hate this symbol, but here she is, and doesn’t it look a lot like Prowl’s head?

What should they believe in, now? What was the truth? They had been lied to. They had been deceived.

***

The purple paint on her chest is still fresh and shiny.

Shatter feels weird. Disturbed, but good, oh, so good.

She believes in the words she is about to say to the crowd below her. She knows, that her leader and her friend wouldn’t appreciate her wearing the insignia he rejected, nor would he appreciate her believing in this… but what choice does she have now?

She is doing that for him anyway.

She looks below and sees the alien frametypes. There were no mecha like this in her universe. They got modifications, they changed their alts and modified their root modes. Many of them chose their frame mods to look scary and menacing. They are monsters, she thinks, and I could be a monster too.

Maybe I should be one.

“Decepticons!” she speaks. She is amazed by the strength of her own voice. “You might not know me. I’m called Shatter. I came from the parallel universe, the on, where Functionism won and held our planet and our people in slavery. You know what happened: your leader, Megatron, came to us, offering his help, bringing the revolution, bringing the salvation we needed. He taught us, he led us!”

She hears voices bellow, she sees their faces. Some of them still don’t believe it. Megatron betrayed them, their founder and leader defected to the enemy’s side. He abandoned them.

She finds all the power that lies inside her Spark. Rises her voice and it is loud and clear now.

“He came to us in our darkest hour. He brought us freedom and we fought in his name and our name and we followed him to this universe, where we can be really free of our chains. But then he was betrayed, given away to the enemies of the Decepticons and the enemies of entire Cybertronian race! The Autobot traitors allowed this, despite he wanted peace. The enemies of our race put him on trial and imprisoned him and they didn’t listen to you, they didn’t listen to us. We were betrayed. We came in hope and we were abandoned, we were betrayed by those who claimed to be paragons of freedom and peace. Our leader, our hero was imprisoned despite what he did to us, what he did for our race in both universes. And I, Shatter of Iacon, stay before you, wearing your symbol on my chassis!” she pointed at her chest. “I choose to join you because I see now, there is no other way than this one. And we are being deceived over and over again and it will never end, when we submit to our enemies: to the Functionists and to the Autobots, and to the Galactic Council. I, Shatter of Iacon, stand before you to call you to fight, again, against our enemies!”

They are silent for a moment, but then they start to scream and shout, cheering her. She smiles. It is so good to hear it, to have this support.

“I, Shatter of Iacon” she continues. “Came here not only to join you but to call you to the fight. We will attack the Citrix station, the base of our enemies and the place lord Megatron is held! If we are able, we will free him! If we won’t make it, we will die in his name and the name of our freedom!”

There is silence again, followed by more cheers and Shatter raises her head, savoring the moment.

She could be the leader. She could lead them to victory.

Oh, but she will lead them, and they will follow her, most of them will die and they will think they failed, but this will not be in vain.

:Soundwave: she sends a message: It’s done. They will go:

She deceives her followers – no wonder, she wears purple now.

**Author's Note:**

> I was already thinking of Loyalties plot when I saw Bumblebee. Shatter was amazing and using her felt like a good idea - I decided to cast her and Dropkick as Functionist Universe mecha who followed Megatron and found themselves disappointed and betrayed by what happened after they crossed to another universe.
> 
> Shatter and Dropkick will be introduced in the second chapter of Loyalties.
> 
> Also, the author is feedback-starved.


End file.
